The present invention relates to the recovery of nickel in the form of a concentrate from some classes of low grade nickel (from 0.65 to 1% Ni) lateritic iron ore deposits with a relatively high iron content expressed as Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 (between 30 and 45%) and a silica content more than 40% (free silica and a complex of silicates, mainly serpentines) by a combined process of segregation and magnetic separation or flotation.
These ores cannot be economically treated today by any available method, unless they are concentrated prior to a subsequent processing to make them commercially feasible.